2018 Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate offers up intense notes of crushed black currants, fresh blackberries and ripe red plums with hints of pencil lead, black raspberries, underbrush and unsmoked cigars plus a touch of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers bold, crunchy black and red berry layers with a lively backbone and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and energetic.

96+ points Lisa Perrotti-Brown robertparker.com

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is sensual and polished. Bright acids lend energy as this super-finessed Cabernet opens in the glass. Crushed red berry fruit, cedar, rose petal and mint all open with a bit of coaxing. The 2018 is going to need a number of years to be at its very best. It is elegant, nuanced and simply impeccable, but also a bit reticent at this stage. Readers who are familiar with these wines know they need time to come into their own. If that is not possible, I suggest opening it well in advance, even a day or two.

96+ points Antonio Galloni vinous.com

Taking lots of air to show at its best, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a brilliant, classic, age-worthy wine from this great estate. It certainly shows the more structured, vibrant style of the 2018 vintage with lively acids, yet it has utterly classic Cabernet crème de cassis and almost blue fruits as well as Bordeaux-like notes of lead pencil, cedarwood, tobacco, and assorted floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it brings rock-solid intensity, perfectly ripe yet building, firm tannins, and again, the vintage's freshness, purity, and elegance. It needs 7-8 years to hit maturity (it's approachable today with a healthy decant), and I have no doubt this will be a 30- to 40-year wine.

97 points jebdunnuck.com

Philip Togni’s Cabernet Sauvignon is an instant classic in the phenomenal 2018 vintage. Leading with its characteristic black-toned fruit, dusty graphite, green tobacco, and masterfully integrated cedarwood spices, it turns a surprising corner on the palate, leaning into the freshness of the vintage, with a medium-bodied palate and layers of velvety textured red and black fruits intertwined with cigar box, sagebrush, and dried wildflowers.

98 points Jonathan Cristaldi decanter.com

Philip Togni’s east-facing, organically dry-farmed 10-hectare vineyard lies high up on the mountain itself, above the fog line at just over 600 metres. Surrounded by oak trees and tall Douglas Firs, the site is planted to 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, with the balance comprising Cabernet Franc (2%) and Petit Verdot (1%). Generally speaking, the varietal makeup of each release reflects these plantings. It’s a steeply terraced site, home to old vines (33 years on average) in rocky soils of weathered sandstone and shale.

Philip Togni’s preference from the outset has been to make wines more in the mould of Saint-Estèphe—Calon Ségur is a reference—rather than the more giving Saint-Julien; in each season, he and Lisa seek to emulate the longevity, rugged character and definition found in those wines. “That’s what we set out to do, and with a few tweaks, it seems as if that’s what we have achieved.”

The seamless 2018 season has turned out to be a cast-iron classic at this estate, producing elegant, detailed, vineyard-driven Cabernet. The fruit was picked in the third week of September with potential alcohol between 13 and 14%. The grapes were sorted, gently destemmed, crushed and cold-soaked for three days. After 20 days’ co-fermenting, the wine was pressed to French oak (40% new Taransaud and Nadalie). It was bottled in August 2020.